| Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur گُردُوارہ دربار صاحِب کرتارپور ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ਦਰਬਾਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਕਰਤਾਰਪੁਰ | |
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  Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur (Pakistan) Show map of Pakistan | |
| General information | |
| Type | Gurdwara |
| Architectural style | Sikh architecture |
| Location | Kartarpur,Shakargarh Tehsil,Narowal District,Punjab,Pakistan |
| Coordinates | 32°05′14″N75°01′00″E / 32.08735°N 75.01658°E /32.08735; 75.01658 |
| Website | |
| www | |
Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, also calledKartarpur Sahib, is agurdwara (Sikh temple) inKartarpur,Shakargarh Tehsil,Narowal District, in thePunjab province ofPakistan.[1][2] It is built on the very historic site where the founder ofSikhism,Guru Nanak, settled and assembled theSikh community after his missionary travels (udasis toHaridwar,Mecca-Medina,Lanka,Baghdad,Kashmir andNepal)[3][4] and lived for 18 years until his death in 1539.[5] It is one of theholiest sites in Sikhism, alongside theGolden Temple in Amritsar andGurdwara Janam Asthan inNankana Sahib.[6][7]
The gurdwara is also notable for its location near theborder between Pakistan and India. The shrine is visible from the Indian side of the border.[8] Indian Sikhs gather in large numbers on Gurpurab (Parkash Purab and Joti Jot Divas of Guru Nanak Dev Ji) to performdarshan, or sacred viewing of the site, from the Indian side of the border.[9] TheKartarpur Corridor was opened by then Pakistani prime ministerImran Khan and with the great efforts of Prime Minister of INDIANARENDRA MODI on 9 November 2019, the anniversary of thefall of the Berlin Wall and just days before the 550thbirth anniversary of Guru Nanak. This historic moment officially allowed Indian Sikh pilgrims rare visa-free access to the site in Pakistan.[10][11] It is also claimed to be the largest gurdwara in the world.[12][13][14][15]
Guru Nanak spent his final years in Kartarpur, where he established a community and preached the principles of 'Kirit Karni' (honest labor), 'Wand Chakna' (sharing with others), and 'Naam Japna' (meditation on the divine name).[16] He also engaged in farming during this time.
Following his death, a dispute arose over his 'chadar' (shawl) between Hindus and Muslims. This was resolved by dividing the chadar, with the Muslims burying their portion and the Sikhs cremating theirs. Due to periodic flooding of the cremation site by the Ravi River, Guru Nanak's son, Baba Sri Chand, moved the ashes to a safer location, which is now known asDera Baba Nanak.[citation needed]
Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib is located in theShakargarh Tehsil of theNarowal District in Punjab, Pakistan.[17]
The gurdwara was built to commemorate the site whereGuru Nanak, the founder ofSikhism, settled after his missionary work and did farming.[18][19] Guru Nanak founded the Kartarpur town byRavi River in 1504, plowing the fields and setting up a community kitchen, orLangar.[20] He assembled a Sikh commune there, and lived for 18 years until his death on 22 September 1539. The gurdwara is built where Guru Nanak is said to have died.[5] It is therefore the secondholiest site of the Sikh religion afterGurdwara Janam Asthan – the birthplace of Guru Nanak located inNankana Sahib, Pakistan.[6]
Here, Guru Nanak gave the three principles ofKirat Karo,Naam Japo,Vand Chako, which means work hard for a livelihood, keep remembering God and share your bounties with the world. Guru's teachings have been peace, harmony, and universal brotherhood.[21] Guru Nanak believed in equality between castes, religions, and genders and gave the wordIk Onkar meaning there is only one God.[22]
According to Lahore-based art historian Fakr Syed Aijazuddin, the shrine houses the last copies of the originalGuru Granth Sahib. A Sikh pilgrim remarked, "Every step here reminds us of the Guru's life".[23] Indian Sikhs gather in large numbers on bluffs on the Indian side of the border to obtaindarshan, or sacred viewing, of the site.[9]
There is a popular legend about a dispute between the local Hindus and Muslims after Guru Nanak died. Muslims, who saw him as theirpir, wanted to bury him while Hindus, who claimed Nanak as theirguru, wanted to cremate his body. According to the legend Guru Nanak's body was instead turned into flowers, which were divided between the two communities.[20]
The Shrine is located at Kartarpur, a small town beside the River Ravi in Punjab and it is one of the holiest places for up to 30 million Sikhs around the world.[24] The main shrine building was built in 1925 at a cost of Rs. 1,35,600, donated by Sardar Bhupindar Singh, theMaharaja of Patiala.[23] It was repaired by theGovernment of Pakistan in 1995, and fully restored in 2004, at a significant cost. In May 2017, the US-basedNGO "EcoSikh" proposed establishment of a 100-acre "sacred forest" around the shrine.[25] The Gurdwara was further expanded in November 2018 with the construction of a new courtyard, museum, library, dormitories and locker rooms spread across an area of 42 acres (17 hectares).[11] There is a 20-foot well, made of small red bricks which is 500 years old and believed to have been built during the lifetime of Guru Nanak Dev.[26]
The call for a visa-free Kartarpur Sahib corridor was an old, strong, persistent demand from the Sikh community.[27] The move was mooted first during the then Prime Minister of IndiaAtal Bihari Vajpayee’s bus ride toLahore in 1999, while Pakistani presidentPervez Musharraf approved the idea in 2000, and issued various tenders for construction purposes.[28] India, however, maintained that the two-decade-old request has been lying pending with Pakistan.[29] As the shrine lies only 3 kilometers from the border with India, Pakistan, in the year 2000, agreed to allow Sikh pilgrims from India to visit the shrine visa-free by constructing a bridge from the border to the shrine.[30][31][32]
In May 2017, Indian parliamentary standing committee members announced that no such corridor would be established, given the poor state ofIndia-Pakistan relations.[33] Instead, it was said that the government of India might install four binoculars for viewing the site fromDera Baba Nanak situated close to the India–Pakistan border in theGurdaspur district of the Indian state ofPunjab.[9]
In August 2018, then Tourism Minister of the Government of Punjab,Navjot Singh Sidhu was invited to theoath-taking ceremony of his friend from cricketing days and newly elected Prime Minister of Pakistan,Imran Khan. After facing criticism for receiving a hug from GeneralQamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of the Pakistan Army, Sidhu claimed that Bajwa had assured him of opening the corridor before the 550th birth anniversary ofGuru Nanak.[34][35]
The Government of Pakistan in September 2018, unilaterally decided to open the corridor before the 550th birth anniversary ofGuru Nanak for visa-free entry of 5000 Indian Sikhs per day from India to Pakistan.[36][37] The Government of India approved the building and development of Kartarpur corridor fromDera Baba Nanak inGurdaspur district to International India–Pakistan border. The long-awaitedKartarpur Corridor is taking shape and has been termed a "Corridor of Peace.[38] The step was welcomed by Sikh community across the world. After the corridor opening was confirmed by Pakistan's information ministerFawad Chaudhry, Navjot Singh Sidhu appreciated the friendly gesture of Imran Khan.[39] Kartarpur Corridor was welcomed byUnited Nations andUnited States Department of State.[40][41]
Ahead of Guru Nanak Dev's 550thPrakash Purab celebrations the Kartarpur corridor, connecting Sri Darbar SahibDera Baba Nanak in India's Punjab with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, was thrown open on 9 November 2019 (the anniversary of theFall of the Berlin Wall) facilitating the firstJatha (batch) of more than 550 pilgrims to travel to the last resting place of Guru Nanak Dev.[42] On Indian side, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi thanked his Pakistani counterpartImran Khan for respecting sentiments of Indians[43] and flagged off the pilgrimage and handed over the flag of the Jatha toJathedar of Akal Takht Giani Harpreet Singh.[44]
Under the leadership ofAkal Takht jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, the Jatha traveled through the corridor into Pakistan to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur.[45] On Pakistan side, Imran Khan received the pilgrims[46] and formally inaugurated the Kartarpur corridor by removing a curtain that was lifted by hot air balloons to reveal a hugeKirpan (dagger).[47] Giani Harpreet Singh, speaking at the occasion, thanked both governments for corridor and requested corridor access toPakistani Sikhs to pay obeisance at Sri Darbar SahibDera Baba Nanak on Indian side.[48] Poetry about Guru Nanak, fromMuhammad Iqbal'sBang-e-Dara was read byformer Indian prime minister Dr.Manmohan Singh and also by Pakistani speakers at inauguration.[49][50][51]
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Guru Nanak Dev spent the last 18 years of his life at Kartarpur Sahib, which has now become the world's largest Sikh Gurdwara.
